On Saturday evening, October 24, 2026, about 160 guests gathered in Stamboulian Hall at St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church in Costa Mesa for “Love & Homeland,” a benefit concert by the AGBU Los Angeles Choir in support of the Orange County Armenian Genocide Memorial.
Under the direction of choir master Nektar Mirakyan, a graduate in choir conducting of the Yerevan State Conservatory, the choir presented a world-class program of Armenian music, accompanied by flute, strings, piano, and percussion. The adult ensemble was joined for part of the program by young singers. Seeing a new generation singing the songs of the homeland was a fitting tribute to a memorial whose central figure is a mother carrying her child forward.
The evening was also an occasion to celebrate AGBU’s partnership in the project. Earlier this year, the Armenian General Benevolent Union contributed $10,000 to the memorial on behalf of the AGBU Orange County Chapter. In conveying the gift, AGBU expressed its hope that the memorial will help educate all who visit about the atrocities of 1915, preserve the memory of those who perished, and honor the courage and resilience of our ancestors. The Committee is profoundly grateful.
Guests visited the memorial table to see sculptor Brittany Ryan’s maquette, unveiled at the April 2026 commemoration. It depicts a mother and child surrounded by krunks, the cranes that symbolize longing for a lost homeland. The finished eleven-foot bronze will stand on a four-foot pedestal within a twenty-foot mosaic rug drawn from Armenian carpet tradition. It will be installed in the Heart of the Park at the Irvine Great Park in Spring 2028.
The Orange County Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee thanks the AGBU Los Angeles Choir and choir master Nektar Mirakyan, its musicians, and singers; AGBU and the AGBU Orange County Chapter; St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church for hosting; and everyone who came out to support both the choir and the memorial.
The memorial’s $750,000 installation budget is being raised through 2027. Contributions to the Committee, a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit, are tax-deductible. Every donor of $500 and above will be recognized on permanent plaques at St. Mary, Forty Martyrs, and the Great Park Visitors Center. To give, visit ocagm.org.
